Chicken roost, nest, and litter carrier



Nov. 3, 1942. w. ISCHE 2,300,573

CHICKEN ROOST; NEST, AND LITTER CARRIER Filed June 9, 1938 3Sheets-Sheet l /9 23 20 20 2253 E42 2 39 g 23 as 2 20 27 25 2/ I0 85 862 7 25 I5 I giwwm anew,

Nov. 3, 1942. w 1 H 2,300,573-

CHICKEN ROOST, mzsw AND L'ITTER CARRIER Filed June 9, 1938 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Momma- Nov. 3, 1942. w |$HE CHICKEN ROOST, NEST, ANDLITTER CARRIER Filed June 9, 1938 S'SheetS-Sheet s grwe/Mo'o w e 3 n///V/ 7 m n u M a K m MM no a 0 4 H 4 W u u l M b u M A k. m 2 u m R n Femm Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITE D CHICKEN abuse; EST, rim En CAR R,

M invention l es l an hhRhY meh chicken roost, nest and litter carrier,where n. it iedesired t Pro i e erd ee wh ehl-i -c-eeztremely sanitaryand which may be kept clean witha minimum of efi'ort,

Many ou t f hie mr este' hf'e' been P ev u hs u tee e d a n .h v ab ehtaken to mount these rootsin snch ;,a way that it is dimeult for rmofive eue.eq emeeme. into contactwith the roostsi. Because-of thefactthat the roosts in order to be practical mus be ofsome considerablelength iwhere a number .of chickens are to be suPDQ td, it has-been extremely difficult -to keep the roostsanddropping boards clean.Furthermore, it has been diiiicultto clean the space beneath thedropping boards where the nests for the chickens are often lo-Difficulty has also often loeen experienced in keeping the chickens outof the nests at night 20 Instead of remaining on the roostsat night,some chickens have a tendency to remain in m ma making them difilcult tokeep; clean, Attempts havebeen made to keep the chickensout o f the;nests at night, but-if this is done, it is ne ;essary to open the nestsagain after the chicken are quiet or to open the nests early in the moto permit hens to have some place to lay the It has u h e ou d hat afterne; qh ke has laid an i a ne ten er hi k he illfl come into the nest andset on the eggs therein, p n ee e w rmr 1 r 11 1. a

is the object of he, e t nveniienio 9 10.1: vide a roost i h i i l t rtdmqvabl on. t acks mounted on the ceiling or depending therefrom so thatthe roost y be omer d iqr w leehi te; beneath the same and sothat theentire rgost may be moved to a point where th chickens;wi 1l be mostcomfortable. In the summer time the entire roosts may be moved tothecenteh en where r air or nt lat n urnqse available. In cool or coldWeather the roost may, be moved into the position in whichthe chick willbe warmest. Movably mountingtheent re roostin this way also eliminatesall connectign 45 betweenthe roost and the floor and the roost maytherefore be maintainedin a'more sanitary condition. k I

It is a purpose. of my invention toprov fe roosts with pivotally mountedwire-guards: pp: sitioned .therebetweein'. T he se guards or guard vtrays extend above the dropping board trays and prevent the chickensfrom;walking'in the drqp n b di l it 'iey jsireeiiq;elem-J r the"mapping 'baaidwiays the"screens maybe 55 ey f li s e' I 1 f V, v. apiyotedout of usual position and a scraper blade y used -.te een th ttiena r y It is a purpose of myinyention to dividethe; rop ing. bead-Ante hav h y Sides ndi ne nd write -1.1 v s ateeli e er re apart e a ar may flow upwardly between thetrays and over he eeqen eesi y eeii e ehe eenehQ above h .tr rsa' esen ih vdr i hbe c A r-h e heP eamm eppi e;qyee. the; e l f e ray .t-iwh h the scraper is operated from theopposite end rl i. a eene fea u e 9i; my: me ento i hi' h, em en t ro ea h e rih ff 7 er; t e; cr en P at rm hi h o. c e n t em thei i et' u stn n main nh 'th nn t cle ns-T tilted at night and held m'jftiitgci otibln ithri o hunt the night- A latch w 'ev deq tetheldin t e; s f -1mtilted position, which latch is operated when i i $?P ..1? 1Y?a En 1%?in; h v i to h PWWmm P rm t ihe e. teas t normal,horizontal positioniTherefore,

b ltfrrm a tomat ca ly P ope l esiti ned m the" morning to enable thechickens to enter the at l ili v ititgt Pre- T e whe ahqth he j slthenetl a l he i .euehee nesihe tha e nq i et upon the same while shelisinthe nest. Thisvalso;

enables-the-egg's to vlrpe'cooled 701i and collected without dist i in te..- I. h ens.v

t ti ue e aie P re i yiin en eh e-nr r d a te a rie whiehi m va e thmuhW he length of the roost to permit the droppings and dirt .on thedropping board to he scraped into I this carrier throughout ,the length.of the ,roost,

'Ijhese andother objects and ,novel features. of.

, er 2 l anin th tr y a a g a, series of nests integrally fr ontof--,these nests. nestsmthe chickens must walk.

,tiltable screen plat-- hep etie ni e1hhe ilt d ur n I he. i ht. entehiekenei rom-ent in e-. sn h HQHEQYSQKQGII bet emm m- 0 ,5 W Qh ex endtex r Figure I is a is'r'spcev view V of my roost;

release. The construction illustrated in Figure 4 shows a modified formof roost support to that shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view, similar to Figure 3, but takencentrally through one of the nests on the line 55 of Figure l.

similar Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view on the line 66 of Figure 5,illustrating the manner in which the lower portion of the nests areconstructed.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the lower portion of one of the nests.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view through the front portion of theframe illustrating a modified form of construction.

The roost, nestand litter carrier device A comprises, in; general, aroosting portion B, a series of nests C, and a litter carrying device D.All of these portions comprising'the device as a whole, are movablymounted and securely connected together.-

The roosting apparatus B comprises a frame l0 preferably rectangular inshape and shown comprising angle iron strips connected at the comers. Apair of upwardly extending loops H are secured to the frame [0near'opposite sides thereof and are-connected by-bolts 2 to suitablerollers I3, illustrated in Figure 5, engageable in a track l4 mounted'onthe ceiling or upon suitable supporting members. It may be seen that theentire frame l0 may be moved forwardly and rearwardly the entire lengthof the track Spaced at intervals throughout the length of the frontangle member [5 and the rear angle member I6 of the frame I0, I provideupright brackets l1 and [9, respectively. The brackets l1 and I9 supportthe ends of roosts 26, with the exception of the center bracket H. Toeach of the brackets I! and [9, with the exception of the brackets atone extreme end of the frame, I 'provide" saddle strips 2| designed toform a journal for wire trays 22 positioned between the brackets-ll andI9. These wire trays are preferably composed of a series of welded wirestrips connected between longitudinally extending edge members 23 aboutwhich the saddle strips 21 may extend. Hook-shaped strips 24 areprovided on the opposite sides of the brackets l1 and I9 to engage theopposite edge strip 23 of the trays 22. Accordingly; the wire trays 22are pivotally supported upon the brackets I1 and I9. In Figure 1 oftheidrawings one of the trays 22 is shown pivoted out'of usual positioninto the rear wall 31 of the nests.

' the same.

the various nests.

rear wall 31.

1, the dropping board tray 25 adjacent the pivoted tray may be readilycleaned by use of the usual scraper. The inclined rear wall 29 preventsthe blade of the scraper from dropping over the end of the bottom of thetrays and the side walls 2'! guide the scraper in moving throughout thelength of the tray.

Suspended beneath the front angle member I5, I provide a channel track30 for accommodation of a roller means 3| supporting a yoke 32 havinghook ends 33 to support a litter basket 34. The litter carrier 34 may bemoved into position beneath any of the trays 25 by merely moving theyoke 32, the roller 3| rolling in the channel track 30. When it isdesired to clean any tray, the litter carrier is moved into positionbeneath The flexible handles 35 of the litter basket 34 enable thisbasket to be readily removed from the yoke 32.

The nests are constructed as best illustrated in Figures 2 and 5 of thedrawings. A front wall 36extends the length of the row of nests, and a,

rear wall 31 also extends the width of the nests in the front of thesame. Partition walls 39 and similar end walls divide the space betweenthe front and rear walls 36 and 31 into a series of nests. The frontwall 36 is provided with a series of openings 40 therein bestillustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings. The hens enter the neststhrough these openings 40.

The lower extremities of the partitions and end walls 39 are eachprovided with a cross rail 4| thereupon to support side flanges 42 ofthe removable nest trays 43 forming the bottom of The nest trays 43 arepreferably formed as illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings, having atop bame' 44 which rounds the nest and holds the hen upon the upperportion of an inclined screen 45 within the trays 43. One end 46 of thetrays 43 extends beyond the This end 46 is adjacent the lowermostextremityof the inclined screen bottom member 45. A cover 41 extendingthe length of the nests is pivoted at 49 to the By opening this pivotedcover 41 the lower extremity of allof the trays 43 may be seen. 7

When an egg is laid upon the inclined screen 45 and the hen leaves thenest, the egg will roll slowly to the lower end 46 of the trays 43. Thiswill place the eggs beneath the cover 41 where they may be easilyremoved from the nests and also will move the eggs from the portion ofthe nest available for use by another hen. Thus no egg will remaininthenest to be set upon by another hen and the eggs may be removed fromposition "in which the adjacent'dropping board 25 are secured to thebrackets IT and I9 by boltsor other suitable means. When the tray 22 ispivoted out of usual position as shown in Figure the nests withoutdisturbing the hens.

The nests C are supported by a pair of supporting brackets 49' ateitherend of the nests extending between the front and rear angle members l5and I6. The wire screen platform 50 is pivoted between these brackets49' at the point/5|. The screen 50 in preferred form, includes aperipheralreinforcing'member 52 having reinforcing rods 53 extendingacross the same at intervals. Thescreen 54 is positioned within the,peripheral reinforcing member 52. When in horizontal position theplatform 50 is positioned in front of the nests C so that the hens'mayWalk across-this screen platform and into the nests. When in inclinedposition, shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the platform 50 closes theentrance to the nests and prevents the full line positionof Figure3 and'the'dotte d" linej position shown in this figure. A latch strip 52ispivoted at 63 to the" roost 29'and'is'provided' with a notch 64*which'mayengage a'transversely extending pin 65in theyo'ke '59.

In operation, the bracket or" latch 55' firmly engages the platforr'n5llwhen the roostZO isin the full line position illustrated in Figure=' 3.'When the roost 20 is depressed an; abnormal amount, this bracketorlatch55 disengages 'thef platform 50 and by means ofa cord 66 connected at 61to the platform 50 and passing over ap'ul ley' 69 in the U-shaped yoke59 and eiiter'idi'ng to the front of theroost, the'platfor'm 5 may bemanually tilted into the" dotted outline" position. In this position theplatform 50 is normallyen gaged by the latch 51 when the yoke 59 is inits normal full line position shown in Figure" 3; When thecordfili'is'eng'ag'ed and pu1led;to" tilt the platform 50, the platform50 tilts upwardly and the yoke '59 pivots downwardly intothe' full lineposition through this manual operation;if it is notalready in thisdownward position.-

I'hisoperation takes'place at night when'it is'not desired to havethe-hens enter the-nests during the night.

When the platform 50 is thus supported tilted position, the roost 20 isnormallyfinitsf-ull line position shownin Figure 3, and they'o ke "59 isalso in full line position'.- The'latchflfin'this position is ridingupon the pin- 65 and the notch 64 is not engaging'this'p'in as shown inthefu ll line position of Figure 3. When several hens" light upon theroost 20, the roostbar Z0 pivots downwardly slightly compressing thespringfflfl', encircling the guide shaft H extending between the frontanglememberl and-the top of the" center bracket lL- A nut 12on"the-"sh'aft'-TI permits the tension of thespring to be adjustedDownward movement ofthe roost 2U moves'the roost under the weight'ofseveralhensinto the" dotted position illustrated in the drawings-.-' Inthis position, the notch 54 in thelatch 62 engages the pin 65 inthe-yoke59; Aslong asthe several hensremain upon the roost 2D, theyoke"59 an roost remain in full line and dotted- -line positions,respectively. However, as soon i as": the hens move off from the roost20,- this roost piv ots upwardly into the full line pos'itiom-and the'"latch 62 carries the yoke 59 upwardly with the roost 20,-thereby'raisingthe latch 5-! into-the; dotted position illustrated,releasing the plat form 50. This platform 50 is suitably counterweighted or pivoted off center to normally assume horizontal positionillustrated in full lines when the latch 51 is released. The platform 50will therefore pivot into horizontal position when the chickens leavethe roost in the morning and properly position the platform so that thechickens may enter the nests C.

With this" construction, it is possible for the hen to get out of thenests if she happens to be in the nest at the time the platform istilted. It

in some instances it'is-poss'ible 'thata" hen be i in necessary for thehen to fly upwardly at a sharp angie arid-to" rest upon, the lower edgeof the nest opening without fiy'ingabove' the lei/6150f" the nest. It isvirtually impossible for a her'ftd' light upon a perch such as thebottom of the nestopening without iapproaching this ledge from above thelevel of the: ledge, and therefore the tilting platform is extremelyeffective in" preventing"the hens from entering the'n'ests;

Under some conditions it may be conceivable that the chickens mightavoid the center roost; 20 duringthe' night or it might "happen thataninsuificient number of" chickens may rest upon this' c entral roost todepress the roost sufiiciently to cause the notch 64 to engage the pin65 and thereby; release the yoke 59 to releasethe latch 51 from-"theplatform 50 when the birds leave the'roosts. Itgmay therefore bedesirable to" provide, in 'addition to-the-above described releasingmeans'; a means of connecting several of therooststogether so that asuificient-amount of weight on any of the'roosts'near the center of'thedevicewih act to cause release of the platform 50 when "the birds'leavethe roost in the morning. To accomplish this result I provide a pair ofL-shaped"'connecting levers "I3 and I4.' ';-On'e en-d of the-lever 13'is-pivoted at 15to the roost i on one side ofthe central-roost 20, whiletheother end is pivoted at 16'to the frame l0."-

Similarl'y,oneend'offthe arm 14 is" pivoted at H to a roost 20 on theopposite'side of the central roost 20, and is-pivotedat its otherextreme end-at 'Hitothe frame I0. 14 are'pivoted'together at theircrossing point "andto a vertically extendingrod 8| pivoted at 82 at thecentral roost 20. It may be seen: that} weight upon the roost 20 to theright of the central 'roost-will pivot the arm M'about its fixed pivot19, thereby lowering the pivot point 80 and actingto draw the centralroost 20 downwardly; Similarly, when the roostZU to the left of thecentral roost is moved downwardly by weight,-

the lever 13 will pivot about its center 16,1owering-the*connecting'point 89 and pulling the central roost 20 downwardly. By thisconstruction the'c'o'rhbined-weight of a number of birds'on any of theroosts'near the center mayact'to depress-thecentral roost 20sufliciently to cause the latch 62 to engage the yoke 59 so as torelease the catch 51 when the depressing weight is -released; Whentheparts 13 and 14 are not used,

all of the roosts except that at the center are supportedin a fixedposition at both ends; how-' ever, when the parts 13 and 74 areusedythree' roostsarepivoted at oneend and can move up and down at-theother end.

InFigure8 of the drawings, I disclose'a modifi'edfformof track in whicha channel B3'is"secured-directly to the front frame member l5" and theroller 3| engages in the channel 83. The depending track 39 may in thisway be omitted.

The manner in which the roost is constructed has been described and theoperation of the platform latching means has also been described indetail. As will be seen, the device A is movable and may be movedthroughout the length of isirue that thehensare Qrdin'arn all rrii'oved;from the nests before the platform is tilted, but

These levers 13 and the tracks M for cleaning or for culling, the birds.In accordance with 'thepatent statutes Ihave described the principles ofconstruction ,and operation of my roost, nest and litter carrier, and

while I have endeavored to set forth the .best,

embodiments thereof, I desire 'to have it understood that this is onlyillustrative of a means of carrying out my invention and that obviouschanges may be made within the scope of the following claims Withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

'1 claim:

1. A roosting apparatus comprising a frame, a series of pairs of spacedbrackets projecting upwardly therefrom, the brackets of eachpair beingarranged in opposed relation on opposite sides of said frame, a roostconnecting the" brackets of each pair, being supported therebysubstantially spaced above said frame, individual within the spacebetween said roosts, means pivotally securing one side of eachv of saidtrays to the adjacent bracket, and means, supporting the other side ofeach of said trays by the next adjacent bracket, to swingably supportsaid trays above said dropping board pans. v

2. A nesting apparatus comprising a frame a series of nests supported bysaid frame, a tiltable platform having an edge thereof closely adjacentsaid nests in horizontal position of said platform,

mounted on a pivot parallel to the front of the nests, and meanslocking, said platform in horizontal position and in tilted position,said pivot supported by said frame and being spaced for-' wardlysubstantially from said nests to permit the edge of the platformadjacent, the nests in horizontal position of said platform to pivotaway from said nests into tilted position to provide a substantial gapbetween saidl nests and said tilted platform, or toward said neststoswing said platform into substantially horizontal position.

3. A nesting apparatus comprising a frame, a series of nests on saidframe, a substantially rectangular wire netting platform supported infront of said nests, means pivotally supporting said platform along anaxis parallel to, and spaced substantially from, the front of saidnests, said frame being pivotal away from aid nests into tilted positionto provide a substantial gap between said platform and said nests, andtoward said nests into substantially horizontal position, and meansholding said platform in horizontal position, and in tilted position.

4. A roosting apparatus comprising, a dropping board means, a series ofpairs of spacedbrackets projecting upwardly from said roostingapparatus, a series of wire trays pivotally securedto said brackets andpositioned over said dropping board means, a series of roosts, extendingacross i means, a track mounted along one edge of said "dropping boardmeans, and receptacle means supported by and movable along said track toreceive droppings from said dropping board means.

6. A, roosting apparatus comprising a frame, hanger's supporting saidframe, said hangers having roller means, track means slidably'supporting said roller means, a series of dropping board trays extendingacross said frame, a series of roosts above the level of said trays, andan individual wire tray positioned above each said dropping boardtrays,a track secured to said frame extending along one end of saiddropping board trays, and areceptacle supported by and movable alongsaid track to receive droppings fromsaid trays.

'7. A roosting apparatus comprising a frame, a movably mounted roostupon said frame movable between two extreme positions, a series of nestssupported by said frame, a substantially rectangular Wire nettingplatform supported in front of said nests, means pivotally supportingsaid platform along an axis parallel to, and spaced substantially from,the front of said nests, a latch holding said platform in tiltedposition, and means connecting said latch to said roost to release saidlatch by movement of said roost to one extreme position, and means forholding said platform in horizontal position.

8. A roosting apparatus comprising a frame, movable roost means mountedupon said frame movable between two extreme positions, nest meanssupported beneath said frame, a .tiltable platform having an edgethereofclosely adjacent said nests in horizontal position of saidplatform, latch means supporting said tiltable platform-in tiltedposition, and means connecting said roost means to said latch so thatmovement of said roost into substantially one extreme position mayrelease said latch, and means for holding said platform in horizontalposition. v

9. A roosting device comprising a series of roosts, said roosts beingpivotally connected to said roosting device, a series of nests belowsaid roosts, a rectangular-shaped wireplatform pivotally mounted infront of said nests, the rear of said platform swinging upwardly andaway from said nests in tilted position to space saidplatform'substantially from said nests in tilted position, and means forholding said platform in horizontal position, or in tilted position.

WILLIAM ISCHE.

